Nepal

In 2009,the Asian Development Bank released its Safeguard Policy Statement, which addresses requirements for proper consideration of all potential environmental and social issues associated with the development projects that it funds.

In a significant step, an expert panel of the Union environment ministry has recommended the terms of references for long-impending joint India-Nepal Pancheshwar multipurpose project to avoid any delay in its environmental impact study.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (The Kathmandu Post/ANN) - Government has decided to allow the mining of stone, gravel, sand and boulders from riverbeds despite objection from environmentalists.

Despite objection from environmentalists, the government has decided to allow the mining of stone, gravel, sand and boulders from riverbeds, conservation areas and national parks without carrying out the environment impact assessment (EIA).

The government plans to slash the time taken to complete an environmental impact assessment (EIA) by more than two-thirds in a bid to speed up approvals for major development projects.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment said that the regulation would be changed to shorten the EIA process for national pride projects and other schemes the government thinks need to be rushed.

Green reviews currently last more than 120 days, and the government wants to bring it down to 39 days, Chief Secretary Som Lal Subedi said on Sunday

The Nepal government plans to slash the time taken to complete an environmental impact assessment (EIA) by more than two-thirds in a bid to speed up approvals for major development projects.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment said that the regulation would be changed to shorten the EIA process for national pride projects and other schemes the government thinks need to be rushed.

Green reviews currently last more than 120 days, and the government wants to bring it down to 39 days, Chief Secretary Som Lal Subedi said on Sunday.

SMEC has recently announced it has been awarded deals to work on hydropower and dam schemes in Nepal and Malawi.

The company revealed it has been awarded a contract by the Government of Nepal's Department of Electricity Development to provide detailed engineering designs and Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) on the 20MW Budhi Ganga hydropower project.

Located on the Budhi Ganga River in the Far-Western Development Region of Nepal, this project is a run-of-river scheme designed to generate an average of 2520GWh per year. The objectives of the project are:

Changu Narayan Development Committee in association with The GenNep — Nation First, a youth leadership development programme under the Himalayan Climate Initiative, is set to declare Changu Narayan Temple premises a plastic-free zone from tomorrow, coinciding with Naag Panchami.

Pradip Khatiwada, Program Leader of The GenNep — Nation First, said it was part of ‘No Thanks! I Carry My Own Bag’ campaign which aims to reduce and eventually stop the use of plastic bags in the country for environmental protection.

Around 500 people, including 200 staffers from the metropolis, gathered on the banks of the Bishnumati River today to take part in the river cleaning campaign today.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office initiated the campaign today to clean the Bishnumati River by removing solid waste and urging all not to throw such garbage into the river. They gathered at 10 different locations along the river and took part in the cleaning campaign.

Efforts are underway to introduce environment friendly governance at the grassroots within the current fiscal.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development is working towards this end. “We have prepared a draft of an integrated guideline in a bid to deliver environment friendly local governance‚” said Shanta Bahadur Shrestha‚ secretary at the ministry.

Government authorities have failed to intensify monitoring of waste management in hospitals, nursing homes, industries and hotels owing to the pressure from these groups.

The Prime Minister’s Office, Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre (SWMTSC), the Ministry of Urban Development, local bodies and other concerned authorities started monitoring wastes in the sensitive sectors about four months ago after they were found mixing hazardous and general waste against the law.